I subbed for a class in Physical Computing at San Francisco State University for Michael Shiloh for a few weeks. Michael came back to teach the class again and…

wanted you to know that today in class they said wonderful things about you, that you are a great teacher and were extremely helpful in moving their projects forward.

thanks for doing such a great job!

:-)

Went to the Switchboard Music Festival last weekend. Super fun!
My favorites include:

Strike Gently, Kate Campbell and Regina Schaffer playing solo piano pieces

Teslim – not entirely my style of music but they can really play!

Sabbaticus Rex – with their animus connections to their musical instruments.

Zoe Keating – She’s becoming one of my musical heros. :-)

Billygoat – They played this awesome psychedelic set with accompanying visuals :-)

It was just 2 blocks away at Dance Mission Theater which was super-nice. And I got to chat with (a pregnant!) Zoe Keating for a few minutes about music and licensing for a few minutes which was terrific.

————————————————–

Here’s snippets from the Switchboard press kit

Teslim means both ‘commit’ and ‘surrender’ in Turkish and features two well known Bay Area
musicians: violinist Kaila Flexer and Gari Hegedus on oud, Turkish saz, Greek lauoto and other
(mostly plucked) stringed instruments. This potent duo performs Greek, Turkish and Sephardic
music. In addition, both Flexer and Hegedus are composers whose original music is based on
these fertile traditions. This unusual duo is at home in classical, early music, and folk music
venues and holds workshops on a variety of topics.

Sabbaticus Rex is an ensemble rooted in the supremacy of sound over music, the triumph of
tone over time and thought. This process uses haunting and beautiful acoustic instruments and
methods: overtone gongs, shakuhachi (bamboo Zen flutes), Taimu (bass) shakuhachi, and throatsinging.
This is sound, but not music. It is primordial easy-listening for dinosaurs: slowly shifting
elemental dialogues between fat flutes and big gongs.

David Klein and Nick Woolley formed the musical/visual duo of Billygoat, producing stopanimated
films and performing their live, original scores. These films have been described as
“stop-motion shorts of staggering complexity,” created one tiny movement at a time via tens of
thousands of individual photographs of an ever-morphing art piece.

There is an exceptional article in Equire Magazine about Roger Ebert. (via)

Tomato is a small, lean and simple replacement firmware for the Linksys WRT54G.

The Tomato Router Firmware works beautifully. With the TCP Vegas and QoS settings, I can have several users on my network including torrents and web surfers and still have the best Skype call quality I’ve ever had, all with the same DSL connection I’ve had for years. The interface is fabulously clean and functional. I can see who is on the network and get a good feel for what is happening at a glance. I’ve been running the software for almost a year now and, plain and simple, it works great.

I just donated $20 to the project.

I am currently running Tomato version 1.25 on a Linksys / Cisco WRT54GL. (yes, v 1.27 is currently available)

Here is a review my friend Marcus wrote of his experience seeing the metal band Anvil in concert in San Francisco. I found it greatly uplifting!

Lance wrote:
> how was it?
>
I had a lot of fun. Another one down in my quest for unique experiences. :-)

The audience at the Fillmore was really mixed, ranging in age from 13 to 70. Some were young (some parents brought kids), some older (standard SF fare) and some people looked like they could have been to concerts when Anvil started out. (The band has been around for 33 years…)

It definitely was very loud, but I expected that and it was fine with ear plugs. The opening band was Attitude Adjustment, which is pretty much hardcore thrash metal with yelled lyrics, which is not my preferred musical choice for most listening occasions. But, also interesting because it was a new experience for me to see live.

Anvil played music that was good solid 80s heavy metal, some a bit towards speed metal. Overall not bad at all, although a bit hard to hear with the volume. The song titles could all have been taken directly from Spinal Tap: Metal to Metal, Forged in Fire, Thumb Hang, Jackhammer, Mad Dog, Mothra (!) etc. Very entertaining, I loved it. I don’t think they were really #1 hit contenders, although in the 80s everything would have been possible The guitar and drums playing was quite good. But the show made it. The guys just looked like they had a blast, running around, rocking out, and just having fun. At one point the guy actually took out this shiny gold dildo and played guitar with it. Hilarious.
Varying the vibration speed to change the sound on the pickups, which actually worked, and much better than I expected. (Lips, the front guy, later after the show kind of conceded that Spinal Tap is the fake Anvil…)

The guys were great. They gave an energetic show, and had all this fun and optimism. Totally like previous underdogs who valued their newfound movie-driven popularity, tremendously appreciated the audience, and enjoyed every minute of performing. And Lips said “This is what I love doing. You’re giving my the time of my life. I appreciate you guys so much, that after the show, I’m coming out there, and won’t leave until I’ve met each and every one of you.” And he did. Took over an hour to see the over hundred people who stuck around, he signed everything, and he hung around and actually really talked to people for a bit – he’s pretty funny – and he grinned for every single picture they took. (I neglected to take my camera – bummer). Great guy.

I definitely want to see the Anvil movie now. Let me know when it arrives in your queue.

— Marc

My call to Omnipage Sales…

Short form:
Their sales website is huge and very pretty. They spent a lot of money on it. Omnipage 17 costs about $150, Omnipage 17 Professional costs about $500. And there’s the “Enterprise” version.

I clicked the pretty “chat with a representative” popup on their site to find out what’s up with the extra $350.

Want to know what you are paying for? Salesmanship.

—————————————

Here’s the transcript. My commentary (not from the conversation) is in bold

—–

Please wait while we find an agent to assist you…
Hello, welcome to Nuance Chat. Please briefly describe your goal or question and I will connect you with the best resource to meet your objectives.
Customer: What is the difference between Omnipage 17 and 17 Pro? Can you show me a comparison page?
Erin Sim: That’s a good question. What I can do is transfer you to a sales agent who can answer that question and ensure you are getting the correct product. Would that be helpful?
Customer: sure That’s odd, I didn’t make it directly to sales? Whatever…
Erin Sim: Great! Before I transfer you can you please provide me with your name and phone number?
Customer: I’d rather not, thanks. Why would this guy need my phone number? Followup sales call?
Erin Sim: No problem, I will transfer you now. Your expected wait time is 5-10 minutes as we are currently experiencing higher volumes than usual. Thank you for your patience.
Johannes Wehrmann has entered the session.
Erin Sim has left the session.
Johannes Wehrmann: Hello, welcome to Nuance sales support, please let me review what you have entered.
Customer: Hi, What is the difference between Omnipage 17 and 17 Pro? Can you show me a comparison page?
Johannes Wehrmann: There isn’t a comparison between Standard and Pro.
Customer: There is a $350 price difference. You spent $100,000 on your fricking Omnipage website and there’s no way to compare your products? WTF?
Johannes Wehrmann: I can discuss your requirements with you and explaing the differences.
Johannes Wehrmann: Would you like me to call you? … and fill my head with OCR sugarplums?
Customer: I want OCR that works. You sell a product, I buy it. It works. I want to convert image PDFs into Docs. Not hard. I don’t want to be put into the sales funnel. Thanks. Bye. Ok, maybe I’m a bit punchy. But how many people’s pocketbooks did they slime their way into? I have no respect for this kind of sales.
Your session has ended. You may now close this window.

Here’s my review I posted to Yelp. Charlotte, Riley and I went there last night. Kern was buying as our holiday present.

1550Hyde
2 1/2 of 5 stars. It was “fine”.

My yellowtail was cooked fine with a bit of bitter green sauce on it. The cooked baby green things beside it were nice if a little bitter. My friend’s salad was entirely arugula (which as we know is rather bitter) with some oil & vinegar. The coffee my friend got was rather bitter (though maybe that’s the style for coffee in San Francisco). I appreciate “bitter” as a culinary tool but hey!

The server was very nice. My friend asked for a substitute side-order. The kitchen missed the instruction and the server promptly brought her the side she wanted. The plate of the side was hot but the side was cold on the inside :-( It was this cauliflower thing which was good if a bit… wait for it… bitter.

For desert, the chocolate pudding stuff was really good. As was the banana bread! And the bread set on the table was very good. Though I suppose none of those items were made in-house.

But we had a lot of fun riding the cable cars on the way home!

Man, time flies… When I wrote this 8 years or so it was useful, fun stuff. But now I’ll just relegate it to the data pile. I updated it in 2005 but… feh, don’t read this, it’s old and most of my recommendations don’t hold true any more.

Lee Recommends Toys

[last reviewed (poorly) 9-16-05 – Lee]

Here’s a list of many of the “good things” I enjoy.

Tivo – bought 11-01 – It just plain works. This thing has allowed me to watch exactly what I want, exactly when I want. The recorded picture quality is indistinguishable from live tv… Did you hear that? A perfect playback of tv. Your old VCR is going to start gathering a lot of dust. And the program guide is…. why didn’t they come out with this thing 50 years ago?! It’s so intuitive and easy and… gush gush gush! Suffice to say, I like my Tivo. I bought a suped-up one on eBay. It has an extra 80 gig hard drive giving me 80 hrs or recording time on “high” quality. I would get 200 hrs on “basic” but the picture quality there is ucky. I’d say that 50-80 hours of recording time is the minimum you’d want to get your Tivo with. You think that sounds crazy but it isn’t. It’s important to have enough space on it so that you don’t have to watch your favorite programs before they expire… and have some space left over so you can sample new programs, record entire mini-series, movie marathons, etc…
Bread maker – bought 12-96 – Breadman Ultimate. See my cooking page. I -still- use it all the time.

Sharper Image Quadra air filter – bought 1-01 – It really works to reduce allergy problems, it’s quiet and saves money over filters. I sold mine a while back and haven’t bought another because I don’t feel like I’ve needed it.

Pocket PC Cassiopeia E-125 – bought 5-01 – I used to have a Palm III but I got tired of my eyes getting tired with the crappy screen. I’m happy with it. I use it 10 times a day every day. With Avantgo, I get to read the newspaper while I’m on the train every day. That’s cool. 9-9-07 update: I haven’t used it in a while. I just use my cell phone or my home computer. I’m -still- waiting for a cell phone/PDA that fits in my pocket. :-(

Avantgo for the Pocket PC. So there I am reading the newspaper every morning on the train, but my “paper” is this tiny (but legible) thing! The electronic newspaper has arrived! 9-9-07 update: I haven’t used it in a while only because I only used it on my Pocket PC.

Vindigo for the Pocket PC – started 12-01 – Vindigo was the best thing I had for the Palm… now it’s available! Wee! It’s great! 9-9-07 update: I haven’t used it in a while only because I only used it on my Pocket PC.

Canon Ultura mini-DV video camera – bought 12-99. 9-9-07 update. I’m still happy with it. Though I use a digital still camera far more often. I use the still-mode and video mode on the digital camera. It is just more convenient.

Nikon 775 digital camera – 9-9-07 update. This camera went wonky on me a little while back so I bought the 5 megapixel Canon Powershot. That one got accidentally left in the Albertsons in El Cerrito just before Burning Man so I’ll be shopping for another soon. The Nikon 775 was a good camera.

Here’s my original review (with updates)

bought 12-01 – I figure that what I really
want is a 35 megapixel camera (1200 dpi 3×5 photos… a real film camera) and they’ll be available in 5 years, Moore’s law (5 years later and we’re only up to 7 megapixel :-( ). This 2 megapixel camera works quite well enough for now. After having this camera for a while, probably the most important features are:

• small size. If it’s not small enough to bring with me everywhere, I won’t!
• reasonably durable. I passed over cameras that didn’t have automatically closing lens caps and too many protrusions.
• a good case. I’ve got this little aftermarket pack that keeps it safe and nearby. It’s really really worth the $30 and looking around for just the right size.
• easy uploading to my PC. Mine is USB. You plug it in and Zoop! it’s in my computer
• good editing software. I use Jasc Paintshop Pro 7.0 to fix shots with bad color and red-eye. (I now use Picasa for most straightforward edits. It’s easy to use)
• good viewing software. I haven’t found -really- good viewing software yet but I use ACDSee 4.0 (Picasa is the one!)
• good printing setup. I haven’t printed any pictures yet but I might use ofoto.com, fototime.com, or one of the new (as of 7-02) $180 photo printers. I still don’t print photos often. I like PSPrint.com)
• at least a 32 meg memory card. My 32 meg card holds 64 images in 2 megapixel mode. The price of memory is falling rapidly… get a 64 meg or 128 meg card. Remember that when you’re on your next 2 week vacation, there won’t be any place to buy new “film”. (now I have a 2 gig card :-)
• movie mode is kind of nice but not essential. If you get it, it should record sound too. (movie mode is essential!)
• rechargeable battery. These cameras can eat batteries like nobody’s business

FRS Radios –

9-9-07 update: I haven’t used my FRS radios in a long while. They don’t have the range needed to be useful in many places… large events, Burning Man, etc.. Cell phone coverage keeps getting better such that there aren’t many places that aren’t covered any more. And the single-duplex talking gets on your nerves after a while as opposed to a telephone.

Here is my previous review:

Family Radio Service radios are just like the walkie talkies you had when you were a kid, but all grown up. The sound is crystal clear for between 1/2 and 2 miles. Perfect for keeping together on a road trip, at a convention (warning, at the Las Vegas Convention Center, they had a range of like 75 yards. Combined with the ambient noise in there, they aren’t worth it) , festivals, camping, at flea markets, etc.

I like them because they’re cheaper than cell phones. A set can cost you $80, that’s 2 months cell phone service. But these radios will last for years. They work where cell phones don’t, in the country, or when service is flaky.

If you are buying an FRS radio, the most important features to consider are:

• Power button that doesn’t accidentally push while in your bag. It sucks when your batteries are dead before you even get there!
• Rechargeable batteries. Radios last 12-18 hours on a charge, which is a full day. But then buying another 6 AA batteries for tomorrow kinda sucks. You got these things because they are cheaper than cell phones and you want to keep them that way.
• Privacy codes are nice. They keep the random static to nill.
• Call buttons and Vibrate modes are good. Just like a cell phone!
• A good belt holster.

I have a pair of Cobra FRS-305s with rechargeable NiMH batteries. After I put some cardboard over the power switch so they wouldn’t accidentally switch on, they work very well (thanks to the guy in Staples for that suggestion!). The holster isn’t perfect either, but it’ll do. I also have a pair of Motorola Talkabout 250s. They eat batteries, turn on accidentally, turn off accidentally, have a poorly placed Talk switch, and mediocre holster. Wanna buy some radios, cheap?

Want to know where to buyavoid crack in San Francisco? Want to see where the bad people are? Crimespotting.org is the tool!

Want to know where your car is most likely to get stolen? Where you’re likely to get robbed? Crimespotting is the tool!

This is a map of narcotics arrests from October 11-21, 2009. Do you see a pattern? You can click on the dots to see what the crimes are. The vast majority in the tenderloin and that blip in Mission between 16th and 17th are for crack cocaine and drug paraphenalia. Now you know!

This is a  phenomenal  way to visualize crime data. Schuyler is planning an evening field trip in Oakland and is trying to find a place where he won’t get killed for just walking down the street. We found the spot… yes, we found a spot in Oakland with virtually no crime! And we can feel comfortable going there because we know there’s no crime in the area.

Check it out for yourself:

San Francisco Crimespotting

Oakland Crimespotting

The Crimespotting Blog

Some artists I’ve heard recently…

I saw Brad Paisley and Dierks Bentley in concert at Shoreline  Amphitheater  in Mountain View on September 25th. Charlotte, Rick and I went along with 40,000 screaming Daisy Dukes. It was a lot of fun! I enjoy his common-man lyrics.. (IE I’m Gonna Miss Her starts, “Well, I love her, but I love to fish…”) (photo credit)

On October 3rd, I got to sit 5 feet from and listen to Yacouba Diarra from west Africa play. Awesome!

I give a hearty “Thank You!” to the Mission Arts and Performance Project (MAPP)!  They get people excited about San Francisco art and local performance!